A famous disagreement between the schools of Hillel and Shammai - should we count up from 1 or down from 8 each night of Hanukkah? As is nearly always the case, we follow Beit Hillel; so we don't have to do any math to figure out how many candles to light on this 2nd night of Hanukkah. The discussion in the Talmud and halakhic literature is brief, but fascinating. We will explore the underlying reasoning for each approach, and hopefully find new ways to appreciate the increasing light throughout the eight days of Hanukkah.

Alex is a fifth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew College. He is a committed learner and teacher of rabbinic literature and Hasidut at a variety of institutions in the Boston area. In recent years, Alex has spent his time as a rabbinic intern at Brandeis Hillel, Temple Emanu-El in Providence, as a Learning Guide at Lehrhaus, bar mitzvah tutor, and long-time leader of a Jewish garden education nonprofit.